US Open 2018: Kyle Edmund knocked out in first round; Cameron Norrie progresses
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Kyle Edmund, ranked 16 in the world, also suffered from cramp at the 2016 Australian Open
2018 US Open |
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Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 27 August-9 September Coverage: Live radio coverage on BBC Radio 5 sports extra; live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website |
British number one Kyle Edmund exited the US Open in the first round after a surprise loss to Italy's Paolo Lorenzi.
Lorenzi, the world number 94, beat the 16th seed 4-6 6-4 7-5 6-1 amid high humidity at Flushing Meadows.
After taking the opening set, Edmund, 23, was pegged back in the second before he cramped up in the third, affecting his movement on court.
Compatriot Cameron Norrie enjoyed better fortune with a 7-5 4-6 6-4 6-3 win over Australia's Jordan Thompson.
The 23-year-old broke his opponent six times as he emulated his feat of 2017, when he reached the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
The British number two will now play Serbia's Dusan Lajovic on Wednesday.
Cameron Norrie played at last year's US Open after qualifying for the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time
'I couldn't give my best'
Edmund suggested he was not at full fitness for his opening match on Monday.
The Briton pulled out of the Croatia Open in Umag last month with tonsillitis and struggled with a viral illness after the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
"There's a point where, physically, you're not up to shape to play," he told BBC Sport.
"You give your all, but I just wasn't good enough today to give my best. After Wimbledon, I've really been put back. This trip, I was always trying to do my best to get physically fit again, so it's a work in progress.
"Years and years of building up fitness and you get put back. It doesn't just come back in a few weeks, you have to build it up again. It's quite brutal. The calendar is so long you have to keep physically fit the whole year round.
"There's no point sulking about it - it's very much keep working hard to get it back."
The contest against Lorenzi, which lasted three hours and 12 minutes, was played in temperatures of 30C and with humidity above 60%.
Cramping was an issue which Edmund struggled with earlier in his career, notably during the 2015 Davis Cup final and again a few months later during an opening-day exit at the 2016 Australian Open.
He struggled as his fitness problems took hold in the third set, and he had to stretch out his groin repeatedly.
A series of double faults from 36-year-old Lorenzi kept a wincing Edmund in the set, but the longer it went on, the more the momentum shifted towards the unseeded Italian.
Edmund, shaking his head, did not even attempt to play a shot as Lorenzi closed out the set in the 12th game with a backhand, before the Briton called on the trainer for treatment.
He was given salts in a bid to combat the problem, but his movement continued to be restricted.
Although the veteran Lorenzi does not have a powerful serve, his tally of 21 aces - including eight in the final set - is an indicator of how Edmund struggled to move as the match wore on.